Fabric guiding means for sewing machines



Feb. 6, 1934. A. s. RlVlERE FABRIC GUIDING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINESFiled Nov. 5, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet l Q Z'mnentor Feb. 6, 1934. A. s.RIVIERE FABRIC GUIDING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Nov. 5, 1931 4Sheets-Sheet 2 E fwnemor Gttornegj Feb. 6, 1934. A. s. RIVIERE 1,946,359

FABRIC GUIDING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Nov. 5. 1931 4Sheets-Sheet s J F 3nvenior (Ittomeg Feb. 6, 1934.

A. S. RIVIERE FABRIC GUIDING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Nov. 5,1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 3nventor ll lfi hlrlll flz attorney ES PAT NToFl-ucE FABRIC GUIDING MEANS FOR SEWING Y MACHINES.

7 Albert S. Riviere, Chicago, 111., assignor to Union Special MachineCompany; Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application November5, 1931. Serial No. 573,175 7 Claims. (Cl. 112-136) UNITED STA- Theinvention relates to new and useful imunderlying portion by stitches.-The guiding deprovements in guiding devices for fabric sections vicesinclude means for directing the edge porwhich are. to be united bystitching. It has been tion of the underlying section, and these guidinga common practice in the forming of circular devices also include amovable member lying seams to provide a guiding means for the fabricbetween the fabric sections. This member, in 30 sections/a member ofwhich extends across the order to permit the completion of the circularline of feed and which is manually withdrawn seam, must be movedinadirectionat right angles for the purpose of permitting the completionof to the line of feed, and to'the right thereof as the circular seam,viewed in the drawings. In other figures of the 10 An object of thepresent invention is to prodrawings there are shown fabric guidingdevices 65 vide a simple form of mechanism which may which form a hem inthe fabric and unite the be used for withdrawing the movable member edgeportion ofthe hem fold to the body fabric from between the fabricportions for completing by stitches which join and cover the edge por-,the circular seam, which mechanism includes a tion. The devices forguiding the fabric section connected train of devices movable in onedirecform the hem and in turn the same, placing the 70 .tion by manualmeans and in the other direction edge portion of the hem fold so that itwill be by a spring means. directed to the stitching mechanism. Thisfabric A further object of the invention is to provide guiding device inlud s a member extending a mechanism for retracting the movable memberacross the line of feed and which is movable to -29 extending across theline of feed which is interthe left for the purpose of permitting thecom- '5 30 thereon;

. changeable and capable of being used with amempleting of the circularseam. ber movable either to the right or left of the The machine isprovided withan angle lever 'line of feed, v which is mounted on thestandard of the ma- In the drawmg chine and connected to a knee shift ortreadle 25 Figure l is a front view of a portion of the so that it maybe movedin one direction thereby. go machine showing the improvementsapplied A spring is connected to the angle lever for thereto; moving thesame in the opposite direction. This Fig. 2'is a plan view of the end ofthe work angle lever is directly and positively connected arm with thefabric guiding means in place to the member which is movedrelative tothe g Y I line of feed. By changing the position of the Fig. 3 is asectional view along the line of angle leverit may be interchangeablyconnected feed through .the fabric guiding means and the with either themember which is movedto the support therefor; and showing in brokenlines left or the member that is moved to the right. the needle and thework supporting army The invention will be better understood by a as 1Fig.4 is a sectionalview on the line 4-4 of detail description of thepresent illustrated em- Fig. 3. bodiment thereof. InFig. l of thedrawings, Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing one thesewing machinewhich is illustrated inpart character of circular seamwhich may be usedincludesa supporting'base 1 carrying an overfor uniting fabric sectlonsihanging arm 2 and a work supporting arm 3,

g 40 Fig. 6 is a modified form showing the devices which a shown, is oft cylindrical type and -60 Fig. 9 is atransverse sectional view of thefor withdrawing the movable member as reverse is. therefore, especiallyadapted for forming cirand used in connection with a member movable incular seams. By a circular Seam ismeant a seam an directim 2 the line 9feed? .applied to a tubular part which finishes at the t B- dlafgmmmamcv m one point where it begins; or substantially so. Cargg a zi gg zi z zg fiifi g g 9 made with ried by the overhanging arm 2 is a needle head tFig. 8 isbila. lofngitudinal sectional view through g gifg g i iz i gfig 2:25 22 5 35213; he mova e a'bnc gmde and the supporting with thesetwo'needles beneath the work supth I means ere or and port is a looper 8which isshown diagrammatically in Fig. 5. The threadof the needle '7 issame.

In Figures to 4 gu1djng devices are shown indicated at 9 and the threadof the needle 6 for directing an overlying fabric section relative isindicated at The thread of 'the pe to the edge portions of an underlyingfabric sec- 8 is indicated at 11.- These'threads are formed 55 n forjoining and covering the edge or the into loops which are interlockedin-a well-known is indicated at 22 in the drawings.

. the edge guiding member 16.

way for joining fabric sections and covering the edge portion of thelower section.

Mounted on the work support, as shown in Figures 1 to 5, is a'fabricsupporting plate 12. This fabric supporting plate 12 is attached to abracket 13 secured to the work supporting arm by suitable screws 14 and15. The fabric supporting plate 12 may be attached in any desired way tothis supporting bracket 13, and is a rigid part thereof. Mounted on thefabric supporting plate 12 is an edge guiding member 16. Said edgeguiding member is secured to the fabric supporting plate by screws 17,17 passing through a slot 18 in a shank 19 which carries said edgeguiding member. The edge guiding member is provided with a verticallyextending portion 16 and an overhanging portion 16. As shown in Fig. 5,an underlying fabric section F is stitched to an overlying fabricsection F. The edge- 1 of this underlying fabric section F is directedthrough this guiding member 16 and along the vertical edge guiding wall16 thereof. The fabric section 'F' passes completely over the edge guide16. Located directly in rear of the edge guiding member 16 is a guidingmember which extends between the fabric sections across the line of feedand which is also provided with an edge guiding portion for directingthe edge of the underlying fabric between the two needles. In Fig. 2 ofthe drawings, the feed dog of the machine is indicated at 29, and theline of feed which is determined thereby is in a plane cutting the axisof the longitudinal work support at right angles. The material is heldon the work support by a presser foot 21 arranged above'the feed dog andcooperating therewith.

This guiding member located between the presser foot and the edgeguiding member 16 Said edge guiding member has a vertically extendingportion 23 which also extends rearwardly from the main section of theguiding member so as to more efficiently direct the edge portion of theunderlying fabric section between the two needles. This edge guidingmember 22 is provided with an overhanging portion 24 which extendsbetween the fabric sections, separating the same so as to insure theproper guiding of the two fabric sections without one in any wayinterfering with the other. 'The overhanging portion 24 as clearly shownin Fig. 2, when in normal operative position, extends well to the leftof the line of feed and the two needles stitching the fabric sections.When it is desired to complete the circular seam, this member 22 must bemoved to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, so as to withdraw this extendedoverhanging portion 24. In this figure of the drawings, the member 22'isshown in broken lines as withdrawn to complete the stitching of thecircular hem. At this time, the edge 24 of the member 22 issubstantially in line with the edge 16 of The small portion of the edgeof the underlying fabric which is within the guiding member 16 andunderneath the extension 24 may be readily withdrawn so that in thecompleting of the circular hem, the formed stitches will not contactwith the overhanging part of either the guiding member 16 or the guidingmember 22.

This guiding member 22 is withdrawn from between the fabric sections bymeans of an elbow lever 25which is pivoted at 26to the standard of themachine. This elbow lever is connected by means of screws 42, 42.

a suitable flexible member 27 to a treadle or knee shift, which, whenoperated, will pull down on the arm 25 of the elbow lever. A spring 28is attached to the lever arm 26 at 29 and to the standard of the machineat 30. This spring normally lifts the arm 25 when it is released fromthe treadle or knee shift pull, and raises said arm against a. stop 31.A link 32 is pivoted at 33 to the arm 25 of the elbow lever 25. Thislink 32 is positively connected to the member 22. The fabric supportingplate 12 has a slot cut therethrough, and the supporting shank 35 of theedge guiding member 22 is located in this slot. Beneath the slot is thehorizontal portion of the bracket 13 and the shank 35 rests on thishorizontal portion of the bracket 13 and slides back and forth in theslot 34. The bracket 13 is slotted. A link or bar 36 is located on theinside of this bracket and underneath the horizontal portion thereof,and carries a head 37 which extends into the slot in the bracket andagainst the under face of the shank 35 carrying the guiding device 32.Screws 38, 38 secure'the shank 35 to this head 37. At the other end ofthe arm 36 is a head 39 with a portion extending through and sliding ina slot 40 in the vertical portion of the bracket 13. The link 32 ispivoted at 41 to this head 39.

Thus we have a positive train of connections between the elbow lever andthe shank of the edge guiding device 22 which consists of the link 32and the rod 36. The spring 28 will not only lift the arm 25, but throughthe'link 32 it'will positively shift the edge guiding member 22 to itsnormal set position for directing the fabric sections. When the treadleor knee shift is operated, then the elbow lever is swung in a clockwisedirection, and the link 32 will movethe edge guiding device 22 to theright, as viewed in Fig. 1, and withdraw the overhanging portion 24 115from beneath the fabric sections so that the edge portion of theunderlying fabric section F. can be readily removed from beneath saidoverhanging portion and from the edge guiding device 16 and the circularseam completed. 120

In Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings, fabric guiding devices are usedwhich are adapted to form a hem in a fabric section F The fabric sectionis turned underneath, and the folded under portion is indicated at F.The needle 126 thread 9 passes through the body portion of the fabricand the underfolded edge portion,'while the needle'thread 10 passesthrough the body fabric only. The looper thread" 11 joining the needlethreads will cover the edge of this under- 136 folded portion F Theguiding devices include the cloth plate 12 which is secured to the worksupporting arm 3 by Mounted on this fabric supporting plate 12 is a hemfolder part43 which 135 is substantially U-shaped in cross section andis mounted on a shank 44 secured by screws 45 to the fabric support in afixed, position thereon. Cooperating with this hem folding part 43 is aguiding member 46 which extends into the hem 141) folding part 43 andthe fabric section is guided over this part 46 and folded around the endthereof by the hem folder 43. The fabric guiding member 46 is secured toa supporting block 50 located beneath the same by means of screws 47,145 4'7 which pass through slots in said fabric guiding member 46 andenables said member to be shifted in a direction at right angles to thefeed and fixed in different set positions relative thereto. Thepurposeof adjusting this member is to properly position the end thereofextending into the hem folder 43. Also attached to the supporting blockfor the fabric guiding member 46 is an edge guide 48 which extends alongthe front face of the block and is bent laterally so as-to guide theedge I of theunderfolded portion F. This edge guide is adjustablysecured to the supporting block by means of screws 49, 49 passingthrough slots. The supporting block is indicated at 50 in the drawings.This supporting block is provided with a depending rib which slides in aslot in the fabric supporting plate 12. The supporting block 50 isattached to a rod 51 which extends underneath the cloth plate 12 andcarries a head at the right-hand end asviewed in Fig. 6. This rod isattached to the link 52 by a screw 53 which passes through the end ofthe link and is threaded into the head on the rod. The screw extendsthrough a slot in the cloth plate. The to the elbow lever 25 which ispivoted at 26 to the standard of the machine, but arranged so that thearm 25 extends to the left of the pivot instead of the right, as shownin Fig. 1. The flexible member 27 is attached to the arm 25 and to theknee shift or treadle, and the spring 28 is attached to the arm 25 at 53and to the standard at the point 30. This spring swings the angle leverin a clockwise direction until it engages a stop 54 on the standard ofthe machine. The link 52 is pivoted at 55 to the arm 25 of the elbowlever. When the elbow lever is depressed, the link 52 will move thefabric guiding member 46 to the broken line position, thus withdrawingthe same from withinthe hem forming member 43. This member 46 is movedin a direction at right angles to the line of feed, butin an oppositedirection from the movement of the fabric guiding member 22, as shown inFigures 1 to 4. The purpose of withdrawing the fabric guiding member 46is to permit the circular hem to be completed. The spring normally holdsthis guiding member 46 in operative position for cooperating with thehem folder 43 in the forming of the hem,

and when it is depressed by operation of the treadle or knee shift, thenit is moved to inoperative position. It will be noted that the movablemember is shifted by a positive train of devices consisting of the link52 and the rod which is pivoted thereto and to the block carrying saidmember 46. The link is pivoted directly to the elbow lever, so that whenthe spring moves the elbow lever in one direction, the member 46 ispositively shifted, and when the knee shift moves the elbow lever in theopposite direction, likewise the fabric guiding member 46 is positivelyshifted. The only change necessary in order to equip the machine withone form of fabric guiding mechanism or the other, is the reversing ofthe elbow lever, the rearrangement of the stop and the spring whichoperates on the elbow lever.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction may bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth inthe appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new. and desire tosecure by Letters- Patent, is-

l. A fabric guiding mechanism for forming circular seams including afabric guiding member adapted to project across the line of feed and thestitching line and disposed between the fabric portions being joined,meansfor supporting said' fabric guiding member whereby the same may beshifted in a directionat right-angles to the line of feed forwithdrawing the same from 'ject across between the fabric portions topermit the completing of the circular seam, an elbow lever mounted toswing about a horizontal axis, a train of devices positively connectedto said elbow lever and to said fabric guiding member, a springconnected to the elbow lever for moving the same in one direction,manually controlled means connected to the elbow lever for moving thesame in the opposite direction for withdrawing the guiding member, and astop for limiting the movement of the elbow lever.

2. A fabric guiding mechanism for forming-circular seams including afabric guiding member adapted to project across the line of feed and thestitching line and disposed between the fabric portions being joined,means for supporting said fabric guiding member whereby the same may beshifted in a direction at right angles to the line of feed forwithdrawing the same from between the fabric portions to permit thecompleting of the circular seam, an elbow lever mounted to swing'aboutto said fabric guiding member and slidable therewith, a link pivoted tosaid rod and to said elbow lever for moving the fabric guidingmemberpositively with the elbow lever, a spring connected to the elbow leverfor moving the same in one direction, a stop for limiting the movementof the lever, and manually controlled means con-' nected to the elbowlever for moving the same in the opposite direction for withdrawing theguiding member.

3. A fabric guiding mechanism for forming circular seams including afabric guiding member adapted to project across the line of feed and thestitching line and disposed between the fabric portions and having anedge guide for the underlying section of fabric, means for slidinglysupporting said fabric guiding member, an elbow lever, means forpositively connecting the elbow lever to the supporting means, manuallycontrolled means connected to said elbow lever for moving the same towithdraw the fabric guiding member from the path of travel of thefinished stitches to permit the completing of the circular seam, aspring for moving the elbow lever in the opposite direction, and anadjustable stop for limiting the movement of the elbow a horizontalaxis, a rod connected lever and determining the operative position of 1the guiding member. I

4. A fabric guiding mechanism for forming circular seams including afabric supporting plate, a fabric guiding member adapted to prothe lineof feed and the stitching line and disposed between the fabric portionsbeing joined, means for supporting said fabric guiding member whereby itmay be moved in a direction at right angles to the feed for withdrawingthe fabric guiding member from the path of travel of the finishedstitches to permit the completing of the circular seam, a rod connectedto said fabric guiding member and movable therewith, a link connected tosaid rod, and manually controlled means connected to the link forshifting the fabric guiding member.

5. A fabric guiding mechanism for forming circular seams including afabric supporting plate, a fabric guiding member adapted to pro- Sectacross the line of feed and the stitching line and disposed between thefabric portions being joined, means for supporting said fabric guidingmember whereby it may be moved in a direction at right angles to thefeed for withdrawing the fabric guide from the path of travel of thefinished stitches to permit the completing of the circ lar seam, a rodconnected to said fabric guiding member and movable therewith, a linkconnected to said rod, manually controlled means connected to the linkfor shifting the fabric guiding member, and an edge guiding means fixedto the fabric supporting plate and located in frontof said fabri guidingmember.

6. A fabric guiding mechanism for forming circular seams including afabric supporting plate, a bracket to which said fabric supporting plateis attached, said fabric supporting plate having a slot therethrough, afabric, guiding member having a shank portion located insaid slot andcarried by said bracket, said bracket having a slot therethrough. a rodbeneath the bracket and having a head projecting through said slot andconnected to the shank of the fabric guiding member, a link pivotallyconnected to said rod for moving the same endwise and withdrawing thefabric guiding member from across the line of feed, and manuallycontrolled means connected to said link for moving the same endwise.

7. A fabric guiding mechani-sr for forming circular seams including afabric supporting plate, a fabric guiding member adapted to projectacross the line of feed and the stitching line and disposed between thefabric portions being- ALBERT S. RIVIERE.

